The owner of a downtown Mystic jewelry store, convicted of larceny in 2015 for purchasing jewelry and antiques stolen in a series of residential burglaries in the Lyme and Old Lyme area, has been charged with violation of probation because he hasn't made full restitution of $136,249 to the victims. 

Matthew Hopkins, 47, of Westerly, owner of Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co. jewelry store on West Main Street in Mystic, pleaded not guilty to the probation violation when he was arraigned Monday in New London Superior Court. He is free on a $25,000 bond and is due back in court on Jan. 27.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit written by Connecticut Probation Officer Amy Cardella, Hopkins has made a total of $45,000 in restitution payments. With his five years of probation due to end this month, he has an outstanding balance of $90,749.30.

Hopkins did not return a phone message left at his business Thursday.

His legal problems began after state police discovered Hopkins had purchased stolen high-end jewelry, precious metals and antiques from brothers Justin and Karl Weissinger. He told state police the Weissinger brothers had gone into the store 15 to 25 times in 2011 and 2012 with items they said they obtained from storage unit auctions. State police said the brothers had stolen the items after breaking into six homes in Lyme, two in Old Lyme and one in Chester.

Hopkins pleaded guilty to second-degree larceny, a felony offense that could have landed him in prison. Superior Court Judge Hillary B. Strackbein told him at the time that his effort to make restitution would determine whether he remained free. She imposed five years of probation and ordered him to repay the victims $136,249.30.

Total restitution due to the victims was calculated at $408,748 and divided equally among Hopkins and Justin and Karl Weissinger in what is known as a joint and several liability balance. The Weissingers both were sentenced to prison time, and the judge told Hopkins he was likely to be responsible for "the lion's share" of the restitution.

When a Connecticut judge orders an offender to make restitution, the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Branch establishes a monthly payment schedule based on the person's ability to pay. The CSSD determined when Hopkins' probation began in 2015 that he should make monthly payments of $2,477.26, according to the warrant affidavit. He told his probation officer there was no way he could pay that amount due to a divorce and decreased income. The probation officer said Hopkins needed to make the largest payment possible each month, and Hopkins replied that the best he could do at the moment was $500, according to the affidavit.

According to the Department of Correction, Justin Weissinger, sentenced to nine years in prison, was released on parole to Vermont, where he had relatives, on Dec. 14, 2016. Because he remains on parole, he still is under the supervision of correctional officials, and his three years of probation, during which he would be required to make restitution payments, has not started.

Karl Weissinger, sentenced to three and a half years in prison, was discharged from prison on May 26, 2017, to begin serving his three years of probation. He lives in Lyme and had made $300 in restitution payments as of mid-December, according to the probation department.

Some of the stolen items were returned to the victims, but some were not recovered or had been sold for their melt value. One of the victims, Carol Klimek of Lyme, said Friday by phone that she has been receiving monthly checks ranging from $87 to $125 from the state comptroller that indicate they are restitution payments from Hopkins. The probationer makes the payments to the state, which then issues checks to the victims.

Klimek said she also has received small checks indicating they were restitution payments from Karl Weissinger.

With a court order, victims can have unpaid restitution converted to civil judgments if the offender has not fully repaid them while on probation. The payments can then be pursued through civil court actions.

k.florin@theday.com